Skip to main content

Renewal

I've been away from the blog for a few days. It feels good to have stepped away and I'm happy that I'm back. Last Thursday was a busy day for me! I shared my presentation with everyone in the morning and I met with my writing group, for the first time, in the afternoon. When I got home, it was like my brain was overloaded and I needed a break. 

The presentation I shared was about notebooks. It addressed myself as a notebook writer and I invited teachers to become notebook writers themselves. The teachers responded positively to our time together and I'm grateful for that. 

The afternoon brought our first writing group. My group has decided to try something new this summer. We are going to be a hybrid group...meeting face to face once a week and online the other time. We spent some time setting up norms for our group and it was time well spent. We each shared our writing and gave feedback. I love my group. I love that this group of women came together from different backgrounds and experiences. Our writing will benefit from this partnership! 

I have gotten back to writing my book about notebooks in school. They had thoughtful suggestions and ideas about my perspective and what they would want from a book like this. YAY!

Off to write...



Thank you to Ruth Ayres for providing this space to share our celebrations. Please join us and share your own!

Comments

  1. Ooo, hybrid! You're so cool! :D Love reading about your teaching and learning journey.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow! Once a week! I just formed a face to face writing group, and our goal is to meet once a month, and I thought that was good. Ha. Sounds like the experience was inspiring. You go write, girl! ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love what I've seen on your blog about notebooks. I'm sure the others found it valuable. It sounds like your group is going to be great for your writing and theirs.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I imagine that everyone loved your sharing, Michelle. Your notebooks always look so great. Glad it was a good time all along. The group sounds like they're ready to get going!

    ReplyDelete
  5. A notebook writer sounds like a good term, Michelle. Best of luck on your ventures, especially your book.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Please share your thoughts. I love comments!

Popular posts from this blog

Whatever Happened To...

Sharing this post on Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Do you ever wonder whatever happened to your students after the year you spend together? I imagine how my students are finding life...are they happy? Successful? Do they still read? Write? What is going on with them?   I taught fifth grade for eight years. Fifth grade was such a fun year to teach because the students were still young enough that school was something they loved and old enough that they could show some real signs of independence. Fifth grade is the oldest grade in our elementary schools, so the students enjoyed their final year before moving onto middle school and the challenges that came with that new adventure.  2007 was a tough year for me personally. My dad collapsed in September of that year and then died in March of that same school year. He lived thousands of miles away, so my mind was definitely unfocused that year...but that year, Catie was in my class.  Catie was a quiet stude...

Chasing My Dream

I'm doing it. I'm chasing my dream. I've always wanted to run writing retreats and workshops for people, but I've always been too scared to do anything about it...until now. I don't know what's changed...maybe I've changed. I'm not allowing the fear to stop me anymore. I've started Selah Writing Retreats.  The past couple of weeks I've been getting the business end in order. I thought I would hate that...I don't. It's scary, but I am surprising myself with how efficient I am. Yesterday I went to a bank to set up a bank account. The woman I met with was kind and helpful and so enthusiastic about my dream. My website is set up. I've done lots of work on it. I hope you stop by and let me know what you think. It's  selahwritingretreats.com . Balancing creative with business has been challenging but fun. Creating the website, getting a federal tax id, making business cards, planning dates... My favorite voxer group is called Butt Ki...

Saying Goodbye

Thank you to Stacey, Betsy, Dana, Tara, Beth, & Anna for this amazing platform to write and share writing! What a wonderful community you've created! I'm honored to be part of it. Join us at  Two Writing Teachers .  Today is the last day of sixth grade. My students will leave this classroom and they will magically turn into seventh graders. I am sad. We have to say goodbye. Goodbye to our time together. It turns out...I'm not good at saying goodbye. Emotions overwhelm me and I pull back...I want to be strong for them. Today I want to BE in the moment as much as possible. I want to talk with my students and remember our good times together. I want to pay attention to the final moments of our community. We created strong communities this year and we took care of each other.  They are ready. Summer is waiting. Seventh grade is waiting. They have written and read and created and communicated and grown every single day. I'm proud of each of my students. I ...